Department for Transport

Transport

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to facilitate increased uptake of (a) ultra-low emission vehicles and (b) active travel.

Jesse Norman: This Government is investing nearly £1.5bn‎ between April 2015 and March 2021 in one of the most comprehensive global programmes of support for ultra-low emission vehicles. Our ambition is for almost every car and van to be zero emission by 2050 and to achieve this we will end the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2040. The Government’s forthcoming Road to Zero strategy will provide further detail on our ambitions and how we plan to achieve this transition. We want to make cycling and walking the natural choices for shorter journeys, or as part of a longer journey. The Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, published in April 2017, sets out how the Government intends to do this, and identifies £1.2bn which may be invested in cycling and walking from 2016 to 2021.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Fuel Poverty

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of households in fuel poverty have (a) no connection to the gas grid, (b) at least one prepayment meter installed and (c) electric central heating.

Claire Perry: Fuel poverty is a devolved issue, each nation in the UK has its own fuel poverty definition, targets and policies to tackle the issue.In 2015, the proportion of fuel poor households in England with no connection to the gas grid was estimated to be 18.5% (463,000 households).The proportion of fuel poor households in England with at least one prepayment meter was estimated to be 32.9% (823,000 households).The proportion of fuel poor households in England using electric central heating was 8.2% (204,000 households).The latest fuel poverty detailed tables for England can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fuel-poverty-detailed-tables-2017Note that the latest fuel poverty annual statistics for England are due to be published on the 26th of June, 2018.

Fuel Poverty

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many households in fuel poverty have a home that is rated (a) band C, (b) band D, (c) band E and (d) lower than band E for energy efficiency.

Claire Perry: Fuel poverty is a devolved matter, each nation in the UK has its own fuel poverty definition, targets and policies to tackle the issue. Between 2010 and 2015, the number of households in fuel poverty in England was estimated to be as follows: SAP bandsNumber of households (thousands) 201020112012201320142015A/B/C*68104104135151D694772893105511991337E122711461015875758736F and G531447348313287278* Figures have been suppressed due to small sample size Source: BEIS data https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fuel-poverty-trends-2017

Fuel Poverty

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many households in fuel poverty have had their homes upgraded since January 2015 to band (a) C, (b) D and (c) E for energy efficiency.

Claire Perry: The Department does not hold the number of households in fuel poverty that have had their homes upgraded since January 2015.Due to the nature of the survey, on which the fuel poverty statistics are based, the department cannot track when an energy efficiency measure is installed in a property and the resulting change in efficiency rating.The fuel poverty trends tables estimate the number of households in each energy efficiency band between 2003 and 2015, these tables can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fuel-poverty-trends-2017.

Fuel Poverty

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many households have been connected to the gas grid under the fuel poor network extension scheme since 1 April 2014.

Claire Perry: According to Ofgem statistics, between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2017, the Gas Distribution Networks in Great Britain made 37,597 connections under the Fuel Poor Network Extension Scheme.

District Heating: Regulation

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to regulate district heating.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment his Department has made of the cost effectiveness of district heating systems.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that energy firms produce clear and transparent billing for district heating in new developments.

Claire Perry: The Clean Growth Strategy committed to assessing the sector’s future market framework. The Department will consider the recommendations from an industry taskforce published in January 2018 and the CMA’s final recommendations in developing an appropriate future market framework that will deliver benefits for consumers and growth for the sector. District heating has significant potential to reduce energy bills and carbon. We are investing £320m in the sector through the Heat Networks Investment Project launching in the autumn to ensure consumers benefit from this opportunity and get a fair deal; a number of pilot projects have already received funding. In the 2017 Clean Growth Strategy BEIS assessed the carbon cost-effectiveness of various technologies including district heating systems at an estimated £184/tCO2e for domestic district heating (undiscounted, 2015 prices), and £224/CO2e for non-domestic district heating. These figures do not account for the network benefits of district heating systems and the option value of exploiting future low-carbon heating technologies at large-scale. The Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014 require heat suppliers to install individual heat meters in all newly constructed buildings connected to district heat networks. The regulations require that bills for those metered properties are accurate, based on actual consumption, and that they clearly set out how the bill was calculated.

Green Deal Scheme: Scotland

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many green deal loans have been re-assessed against the Golden Rule that savings should exceed loan payback costs in (a) Scotland and (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.

Claire Perry: The Golden Rule is the method used to calculate the amount a consumer may borrow under a Green Deal Plan. The Golden Rule is based on the principle that the first year’s repayments should not exceed the estimated first year saving for a typical consumer, and the payment period should not exceed the savings period. Once a Green Deal Plan is agreed, it does not get re-assessed against the Golden Rule. If a consumer has any questions about their Green Deal Plan or would like to submit a complaint, the established process is for them to contact their Green Deal Provider. This may be a different company from the one that completed the installation. If not resolved satisfactorily, the consumer may then approach the Green Deal Ombudsman or the Financial Ombudsman Service, depending on the nature of the complaint. Their decisions will be binding on the Green Deal Provider.

Fracking: Plastics

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of fracking supply chains on the level of manufacture of non-degradable plastics.

Claire Perry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 31st May 2018 to Question 146306.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Departmental Responsibilities

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what priority has been accorded to the policy areas of (a) energy security, (b) action on climate change and (c) renewable energy since his Department took on responsibilities from the Department for Energy and Climate Change; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: Ensuring that the UK has secure, reliable and low carbon supplies of energy are key priorities for the Government. We are investing in new power generation technologies that are diversifying our electricity generation and reducing carbon emissions while ensuring security of supply. Since 2010, supported by our investment of more than £52bn, renewable capacity has quadrupled, while the UK has had the highest rate of decarbonisation of any G20 country in 2016[i]. The Capacity Market has ensured that security of supply can go hand in hand with decarbonisation, having already secured the bulk of our electricity needs through to 2021/22. [i] PwC’s Low Carbon Economy Index

Pensioners: Warm Home Discount Scheme

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners who do not receive the Warm Home Discount as a result of being customers of a supplier with fewer than 250,000 customers; and whether his Department plans to extend the obligation to provide that discount to smaller energy suppliers.

Claire Perry: On 15 June, Government announced that it will lower the threshold for suppliers’ participation in the scheme from 250,000 down to 150,000 customer accounts between 2019 and 2021. From 2021, if the scheme were to continue, Government will review the threshold, with a view to continuing to reduce it, if the evidence supports this approach. A gradual approach will ensure that smaller suppliers have enough time to put the right processes in place to take part in the scheme and reflects the increasing maturity of challengers in the energy retail market. Of the roughly 1.4m Pension Credit Guaranteed Credit recipients, over 1.2m receive the Warm Home Discount automatically on their energy bills as a result of being with a participating supplier and being named on the energy bill. We estimate that roughly 60,000 pension credit guarantee credit recipients who would be eligible under the scheme do not receive the rebate as a result of being with a non-participating supplier. As a result of the changes introduced, 20,000 more pensioners in 2019/20, and an additional 10,000 pensioners in 2020/21 could benefit from the scheme, if the eligibility criteria were to continue in their current form.

Federation of Small Businesses: Northern Ireland

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many meetings he has had with the Federation of Small Businesses Northern Ireland since the referendum on the UK leaving the EU.

Andrew Griffiths: My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy meets with the National Policy Director and the National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses most weeks and they regularly discuss the issues that are affecting businesses in Northern Ireland. Various officials from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have had meetings with the Federation of Small Businesses Northern Ireland and continue to do so. The Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility has not received any requests to meet with the Federation of Small Businesses Northern Ireland.

City Deals: Northern Ireland

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with local authorities in Northern Ireland on city deals.

Andrew Griffiths: The Government has set out its commitment to work towards a ‘comprehensive and ambitious’ set of City Deals across Northern Ireland. Officials across Whitehall are engaged with Belfast City Region as they develop their proposals for a City Deal, which my rt. hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer committed to taking forward at last year’s Budget. I look forward to seeing Belfast City Region’s proposals for a City Deal that can drive growth and productivity across the region.

Invest NI

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had any meetings with Invest Northern Ireland on the challenges which face Northern Ireland after the UK leaves the EU.

Andrew Griffiths: Lord Henley, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting roundtable on 19th April in Belfast where he met the CEO of Invest NI, who chaired the meeting, BEIS also engages with Invest NI in a range of fora, including: Invest NI helped arrange and joined a business roundtable hosted by the BEIS Permanent Secretary during the Industrial Strategy Green Paper Consultation on 27 October 2017, this touched on EU Exit and its relevance to economic planning such as the Industrial Strategy.Officials have engaged with Invest NI directly as part of the Four Nations Enterprise meeting, most recently on 3rd May.Invest NI are due to be part of BEIS engagement on the Business Productivity Review in Northern Ireland at the beginning of July.  BEIS officials also have regular engagement with the Northern Ireland Civil Service on key issues related to EU Exit and Northern Ireland.

Tidal Power

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2018 to Question 151432 on Tidal Power: Solway Firth, what the timetable is for the UK Government's response to the strategic case for tidal lagoons.

Claire Perry: My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State made a statement to the House on Monday 25th June 2018 setting out the Government’s position.

Energy: Environment Protection

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the timetable is for his Department to publish the Clean Energy Sector Deal.

Claire Perry: Sector Deals are a new approach to the way Government works in partnership with industry to improve the productivity of their sector. Since the publication of the Industrial Strategy, four Deals have already been announced and there are more in discussion. Several sectors, including those in the clean energy sector, have expressed interest in a Sector Deal and we expect to progress with further Deals that best meet the expectations set out in the White Paper in due course.

Industry: Scotland

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what co-ordination his Department has had with similar Scottish Government (a) agencies, (b) programmes, (c) strategies and (d) advisory boards on the UK Government's Industrial Strategy.

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what co-ordination his Department has had with similar Scottish Government (a) agencies, (b) programmes, (c) strategies and (d) advisory boards on the UK Government's Industrial Strategy to prevent duplication.

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken to facilitate (a) a partnership and (b) cooperation with the Scottish Government on (a) the UK Government's Industrial Strategy and (b) the Industrial Strategy's sector deals.

Richard Harrington: The Government’s ambitious Industrial Strategy sets out a long-term plan to boost productivity and earning power of people throughout the UK and made a commitment to working with colleagues across the devolved administrations on its delivery, where that is appropriate. My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had several meetings with the Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work, and the Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy since the publication of the Industrial Strategy Green Paper in January 2017, most recently in April of this year. This is in addition to a significant level of ongoing discussion between BEIS officials and partners and their counterparts in the Scottish Government, including UK Research and Innovation and the Scottish Government’s enterprise agencies. That engagement encompasses a wide range of matters, from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, to certain Sector Deals, and each of the four Grand Challenges.

Airbus Group

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Airbus continues its operations in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

Richard Harrington: The UK is a strong supporter of Airbus and its UK suppliers and we engage frequently and constructively on their UK investment and activity. Alongside industry we will invest almost £4 billion in aerospace research and technology by 2026 to ensure the UK remains a world leader in civil aerospace. We are working closely with Airbus and other UK based companies to understand their concerns ahead of leaving the EU. We have been clear that we are determined to secure a deal with the EU that meets the sector’s needs. This includes our ambition to seek continued participation in EASA, maintaining barrier free trade, avoiding disruption to supply chains, and allowing employees to work across sites within Europe.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Egypt: LGBT People

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government has taken in response to actions taken by the Government of Egypt against the LGBT community.

Alistair Burt: The UK is committed to protecting and promoting the rights of LGBT people and supporting the legal, cultural and social change required to enable equality for LGBT people. We are concerned about the situation for LGBT people in Egypt. Our Ambassador in Cairo raised the arrests of LGBT people and forced anal examinations with the Egyptian Government in December 2017. Ministers in London have also raised the issue. The Egyptian Government is well aware of our position on LGBT rights and we continue to call on them to uphold and protect the rights of all minorities in the country.

Egypt: LGBT People

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the Government of Egypt on its actions taken against the LGBT community in that country since the April 2018 elections.

Alistair Burt: ​The UK is committed to protecting and promoting the rights of LGBT people and supporting the legal, cultural and social change required to enable equality for LGBT people. We are concerned about the situation for LGBT people in Egypt. Our Ambassador in Cairo raised the arrests of LGBT people and forced anal examinations with the Egyptian Government in December. Ministers in London have also raised the issue. The Egyptian Government is well aware of our position on LGBT rights and we continue to call on them to uphold and protect the rights of all minorities in the country.

Egypt: LGBT People

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps the Government has taken to support the work and safety of human rights and LGBT rights groups in Egypt.

Alistair Burt: ​Defence and promotion of human rights, including the rights of LGBT people, remains a fundamental objective of UK foreign policy. Human rights defenders (HRDs) are courageous people who are striving to improve the rights of their fellow citizens and further the development of their countries. The UK recognises the growing threats that many HRDs face and works with international partners to support them through organisations like Lifeline and Frontline Defenders. Egypt is a Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights Priority Country and we regularly raise our human rights concerns with the Egyptian authorities, including the arrests of HRDs.In 2017 the Foreign Secretary issued revised UK Guidelines on Working with Human Rights Defenders. These enable the UK diplomatic network to provide the most effective support to HRDs, including in Egypt.

Egypt: Homosexuality

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government has taken to engage with the Egyptian Medical Syndicate and other key stakeholders to end forced anal examinations in Egypt.

Alistair Burt: Our Ambassador in Cairo raised the arrests of LGBT people and forced anal examinations with the Egyptian Government in December 2017. We are concerned about reports of torture and mistreatment in detention in Egypt and continue to raise these issues with the Egyptian authorities.We have raised our concerns in public through the UN Human Rights Council and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Human Rights Priority Country reports, and in private in meetings with Egyptian officials in London and Cairo. The UK wants to see more political progress and better protection of human rights in Egypt, including implementation of the rights guaranteed by Egypt's Constitution.

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands: Marine Protected Areas

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands marine protected area is legally designated as a fully no-take area.

Sir Alan Duncan: The South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands sustainable use MPA, established to deliver defined conservation outcomes, covers 86% of the maritime zone. No commercial fishing licences are granted across the remaining 14% of the maritime zone.There are a number of legal provisions in place for the effective management and conservation of the South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands sustainable use MPA including: no-take zones from the coast to 12 nautical miles around Shag Rocks and South Georgia and 3 nautical miles from the South Sandwich Islands coast covering 2%; an additional pelagic no-take zone extending 12 nautical miles South Sandwich Islands coast; total ban on commercial bottom trawling; depth restrictions on fishing for the Marine Stewardship Council certified toothfish fishery protecting 92% of the sea floor habitats; and prohibitions on krill fishing during the summer breeding period (1 November to 31 March).

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands: Marine Protected Areas

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many kilometres of the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands marine protected area are legally designated as fully no-take areas.

Sir Alan Duncan: The South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands sustainable use MPA, established to deliver defined conservation outcomes, covers 1.074 million km2. No commercial fishing licences are granted across the remaining 166,207 km2 of the maritime zone.There are a number of legal provisions in place for the effective management and conservation of the South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands sustainable use MPA. There are approximately 20,500 km2 of full no-take zones; 18,000 km2 of additional pelagic no-take zones; prohibitions of long-line fishing across 989,000 km2; and a complete ban on commercial bottom trawling.

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands: Marine Protected Areas

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands marine protected area is permanently closed to krill fishing.

Sir Alan Duncan: The South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands sustainable use MPA, which covers 86% of the maritime zone, permits sustainable, highly precautionary fishing activities to take place. No commercial fishing licences are granted across the remaining 14% of the maritime zone.There are permanent pelagic no-take zone around South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, from the coast out to 12 nautical miles. Through the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, krill fishing is restricted around South Sandwich Islands to 15% of the scientifically determined total allowable catch for the region, deemed highly precautionary. In addition to these international measures domestic regulations also prohibit fishing during the breeding period of the krill-eating penguins, seals and other natural predators and natural exclusion by sea ice in winter further restricts human activity.

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands: Marine Protected Areas

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many kilometres of the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands marine protected area is permanently closed to krill fishing.

Sir Alan Duncan: The South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands sustainable use MPA, established to deliver defined conservation outcomes, covers 1.074 million km2. No commercial fishing licences are granted across the remaining 166,207 km2 of the maritime zone.The permanent pelagic no-take zone extends 12 nautical miles around South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands covering 38,500 km2. In addition to the highly precautionary international regulations through the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, there are seasonal closures during the breeding period of the krill-eating penguins, seals and other natural predators (1 November to 31 March) across the entire 1.074 million km2 MPA and natural exclusion by sea ice in winter further restricts human activity.

South Sandwich Islands: Fisheries

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether any commercial fishing for krill has taken place within the South Sandwich Islands Exclusive Economic Zone in the last 25 years.

Sir Alan Duncan: The South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands sustainable - use Marine Protected Area (MPA) Permits, highly precautionary fishing activity. No commercial fishing for Antarctic krill has been undertaken in the last 25 years.

South Sandwich Islands: Biodiversity

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of biodiversity in the South Sandwich Islands.

Sir Alan Duncan: The South Sandwich Islands are remote and as a consequence data-poor in comparison to other Subantarctic regions. There is also a very real threat to the ecology of the South Sandwich Islands from volcanism, with recent eruptions from the volcanoes on Zavodovski, Saunders and Bristol.Recent scientific work indicates that unlike penguin colonies on the Antarctic Peninsula, the penguin colonies on the South Sandwich Islands are stable. To further enhance our understanding of the South Sandwich Islands, the UK's Blue Belt initiative has funded a scientific expedition to visit the South Sandwich Islands in late January 2019, allowing information to be collected on a variety of topics, including on krill and on the benthic communities that inhabit the seabed. UK scientists are also leading work within international scientific research programmes to improve our understanding of this and the wider Southern Ocean region.

South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands: Fisheries

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of the Government of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands' total annual revenues came from commercial fishing operations licensed to operate within the (a) South Georgia and (b) South Sandwich Islands Exclusive Economic Zone in the last three years.

Sir Alan Duncan: The financial accounts of Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands are freely available on their website.For 2016, the latest year for which accounts have been published, the total annual revenue from the sale of commercial fishing activities in South Georgia was 73% of the (£5,586k) and for South Sandwich Islands 1.8% (£134K). These figures do not include associated economic activity such as harbour fees and non-revenue outcomes such as scientific research.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Training

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will include literacy in the right to freedom of religion or belief in his Department's fast-track induction training.

Mark Field: Foundation Level online learning on Religion and Diplomacy is available to all Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff, and is a already a mandatory component of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's fast stream induction programme.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Training

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of establishing bespoke training on freedom of religion or belief for his Department's staff on a country-by-country basis.

Mark Field: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) Religion and Diplomacy course, delivered by the London School of Economics Faith Centre, is available to all staff and is primarily aimed at FCO staff designated for roles where an understanding of religion is key to their work.FCO Directorates and posts also arrange ad hoc activities such as courses, seminars and roundtables to allow their staff to explore religious themes with academic experts and faith leaders. Examples include a seminar on 19 March 2018 by Dr Anna Rowlands on Catholic Social Teaching, a course on political Islam organised in January 2017, and a seminar on Islamist ideology: history and contemporary developments in January 2018.The right to Freedom of Religion or Belief is also included in the Diplomatic Academy's training offer to staff on human rights.Where more detailed learning is required on a specific country or issue, diplomats are encouraged to reach out to FCO research analysts, recognised experts in academia, civil society and elsewhere to supplement their knowledge.Given the existing options, at this stage we do not see a need to establish additional bespoke training on freedom of religion or belief on a country-by-country basis.

Religious Freedom

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will discuss with the Secretary of State for International Development the introduction and implementation of strategies to protect the right to freedom of religion or belief in countries which have severe societal or governmental restrictions on that right.

Mark Field: Defending the right to freedom of religion or belief remains a top priority for this Government. Ministers and officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for International Development (DFID) regularly discuss strategies and approaches to supporting this universal human right.

Burma: Rohingya

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Burmese counterpart on the (a) protection of the Rohingya people and (b) refugee crisis in that country.

Mark Field: ​The Foreign Secretary most recently spoke to Burma's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi on 11 June. He underlined the need for swift implementation of: Burma's agreement of a Memorandum of Understanding allowing UN oversight of the refugee returns process in Rakhine; and her Government's announcement of the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into human rights violations in Rakhine. He called on the State Counsellor to support the creation of conditions to allow the safe, voluntary and dignified return of refugees to Rakhine and ensure those responsible for human rights violations are held to account.

Duke of Cambridge: Speeches

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what advice his Department plans to provide on Prince William's response to any questions on recent killings in Gaza which are raised during the five day visit starting on 24 June 2018 to Jordan, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Northern Ireland Office

Bridges: Irish Sea

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether she has had discussions with political leaders in Northern Ireland and Scotland on proposals for a bridge being built between Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Transport is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and Scotland, and policy issues of this kind would be for a restored Executive and the Scottish Government.

Official Engagements: Northern Ireland

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in how many Northern Ireland parliamentary constituencies she has had engagements since her appointment to that office.

Mr Shailesh Vara: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 26 June 2018.The correct answer should have been:

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has had engagements in twelve of the sixteen eighteen parliamentary constituencies since her appointment.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has had engagements in twelve of the sixteen eighteen parliamentary constituencies since her appointment.

Offences against the Person Act 1861: Northern Ireland

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether she will exercise her power under section 26(2) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 to repeal sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 in order to comply with the UK's international obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Karen Bradley: The Government has no plans to amend the law on abortion in either England and Wales or Northern Ireland. Abortion has always been a devolved matter in Northern Ireland. The Government's priority is therefore restoring devolved government, so that the people of Northern Ireland, and locally elected representatives, can decide what is right for Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland Office: Policy

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the main policy priority is for her Department for 2018; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Northern Ireland Office published an updated Single Departmental Plan on 23 May 2018. This set out the Department’s main policy objectives and how it will achieve them. Single Departmental Plans will be revised annually to reflect new priorities or changes in responsibilities.

Department of Health and Social Care

Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter of Dr Maureen Rickman and Dr Nick Broughton of Southern Health dated 13 March 2018 following unexpected deaths.

Caroline Dinenage: Holding answer received on 21 June 2018



We can confirm that we have received the letter from Dr Maureen Rickman and Dr Nick Broughton. We welcome the collaborative approach taken by Southern Health with families to address unresolved complaints relating to unexpected deaths at the Trust. We will be responding this week.

Palliative Care: North of England

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the time taken to provide patients in the north of England with palliative care.

Caroline Dinenage: The commissioning of palliative care services is a local matter. Patients should receive palliative care in an appropriate timeframe according to clinical need. Palliative care can be provided in a patient’s home, care home, hospice or hospital.

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the relevant Clinical Reference Group plans to make its decision in relation to NICE guidance on testing for Lynch syndrome.

Steve Brine: As part of their work programmes during 2018/19, NHS England will be working with clinical commissioning groups pathology service commissioners to determine whether they can jointly develop a policy position relating to genetic testing and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on testing for Lynch syndrome. A specific date has not yet been set for this.

General Practitioners: Bexley

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time is for an individual to receive a GP appointment in the London Borough of Bexley.

Steve Brine: The average waiting time for a general practitioner (GP) appointment is not collected or held centrally. In the 2017 GP patient survey 70.8% of respondents (of those who could remember whether or not they were able to get an appointment, and when they wanted the appointment) stated they saw or spoke to someone at a time they wanted to or sooner. NHS England is working with NHS Digital to consider ways of improving the availability and quality of GP data, including waiting times data. The Government is committed to improving access to general practice services including sufficient routine appointments at evenings and weekends to meet locally determined demand, alongside effective access to out of hours and urgent care services. The latest National Health Service planning guidance, issued by NHS England in February 2018, requires clinical commissioning groups to provide extended access to general practice to their whole population by 1 October 2018, to ensure additional capacity is in place ahead of winter 2018.

Pollution: Health Hazards

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of the health effects of air pollution on the (a) heart and (b) cardiovascular system.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) raises public and professional awareness of the impacts of air pollutants, particularly those related to the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, by supporting activities that aim to change behaviour, such as the annual Clean Air Day; contributing to the health messages of the Daily Air Quality Index; and supporting masterclasses for public health professionals on air quality. In addition, PHE releases briefings and toolkits, including the PHE, Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs and Local Government Association air quality briefing for Directors of Public Health; this can be accessed at the following link: http://www.adph.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/6.3091_DEFRA_AirQualityGuide_9web.pdf

NHS Trusts: Cooperation

Mike Hill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve cohesion between NHS Trust areas to ensure that patients who move to different NHS Trust areas do not lose access to services they previously received in other areas.

Steve Brine: NHS England has advised that in all cases, the originating clinical commissioning group (CCG) should liaise at the earliest opportunity with the receiving CCG to ensure continuity of healthcare and to agree appropriate transfers of funding. Where a patient moves during the course of treatment, every effort should be made to ensure continuity of care. Guidance issued to CCGs sets out the framework for determining responsibility for payments to providers and responsibility for commissioning an individual's care within the National Health Service. The guidance can be found at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/who-pays.pdf

Postnatal Depression

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to raise awareness among expectant mothers of postnatal depression.

Jackie Doyle-Price: This Government is committed to improving perinatal mental health services for women during pregnancy and in the first postnatal year, so that women are able to access the right care at the right time and close to home. This includes upskilling relevant professionals to raise awareness among expectant mothers of postnatal depression. In particular, midwives and health visitors have a role in raising awareness and early identification of mental health concerns. Overall, the Department is investing £365 million from 2015/16 to 2020/21 in perinatal mental health services, and NHS England is leading a transformation programme to ensure that by 2020/21 at least 30,000 more women each year are able to access evidence-based specialist mental health care during the perinatal period.

Healthy Start Scheme: Infant Foods

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the extent to which healthy start vouchers cover the cost of powdered baby milk products.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Healthy Start scheme is a targeted scheme which helps to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, families and children under four from low income households. Healthy Start beneficiaries receive one £3.10 voucher every week. Children aged under one receive two vouchers, worth £6.20 in total, every week. These vouchers can be used to buy, or put towards the cost of:- Plain cow’s milk - whole, semi-skimmed or skimmed. It can be pasteurised, sterilised long-life or UHT.- Plain fresh or frozen fruit and vegetables. These can be whole, chopped, packaged or loose.- Cow’s milk-based infant formula milk. This must be labelled as suitable for use from birth. The Department has made no assessment as to whether Healthy Start vouchers cover the cost of powdered baby milk products.

Female Genital Mutilation

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with NHS England on ensuring coordination between NHS trusts and Local Safeguarding Children Boards after the decision was taken to disband the specialist team focused on female genital mutilation.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Throughout the previous female genital mutilation (FGM) Prevention Programme, the focus of protecting young girls from FGM remained on local National Health Service trusts, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and Local Safeguarding Children Boards and other partners to develop appropriate local arrangements to deliver the improvements themselves. Governance and monitoring/planning was built into the Programme framework since its launch in 2014, including plans to conclude the Programme and discussions and arrangements for the work to be taken forward after April 2018. Over the four years since the launch, regular discussions took place between Departmental officials and NHS England, who worked closely with regional safeguarding teams across England, and these teams will be carrying on the work to tackle FGM across the NHS in England. The Programme held a number of transition events, both regionally and nationally, and communicated with all key stakeholders including Local Safeguarding Children Boards, to strengthen the focus on local progress and coordination. Regional safeguarding teams will now oversee this work. NHS England and its partners remain committed to tackling FGM and ensuring that all respective staff understand that this important element of safeguarding work remains as business as usual. All partners involved will continue to protect and support young girls potentially at risk from FGM, which is a completely unnecessary medical and highly physically and mentally damaging procedure.

Heart Diseases: Cornwall

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much money has been spent from the public purse on children's cardiology in (a) Cornwall and (b) North Cornwall constituency in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine: The information is not available in the requested format. Paediatric cardiology spend on patients in Cornwall in each of the last five years is as follows:- 2013/14: £514,308.17;- 2014/15: £563,029.70;- 2015/16: £509,222.37;- 2016/17: £588,220.66;- 2017/18: £854,337.98.

Rare Diseases: Children

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to make access available to drugs for children with rare diseases.

Steve Brine: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence issues guidance for the National Health Service on whether drugs and other treatments represent an effective use of NHS resources through its technology appraisal and highly specialised technologies programmes, including drugs for children with rare diseases. Through the Early Access to Medicines Scheme, we are already making important drugs available to patients. So far around 1500 patients have benefited from the scheme, which enables drugs to be used in clinical practice in parallel with later stages of the regulatory process. We have brought together key government, NHS and industry partners to form the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC), who will drive the update and adoption of innovation in the NHS. The AAC will also oversee the Accelerated Access Pathway, streamlining regulatory and market access decisions. The UK Strategy for Rare Diseases includes commitments to improving the lives of all patients affected by rare diseases including in areas of identification/ prevention and diagnosis and early intervention. European Reference Networks (ERNs) are a cornerstone of this Strategy. ERNs are virtual networks between expert healthcare providers across EU member states. Their functions are to pool specialist expertise to improve the diagnosis, treatment and care of rare diseases patients across Europe and act as focal points for highly specialist training and research, for example through the facilitation of clinical trials and development of new drugs and treatments.

Radiology

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to increase the number of funded training places for radiologists in order to be provide continuous interventional radiology services throughout the country.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to mitigate the disparity between the number of interventional radiology consultants working in the NHS and the increasing demand for interventional radiology procedures throughout England.

Steve Brine: Interventional radiology is a sub-specialty of clinical radiology. In the Cancer Workforce Plan for England which was published in December 2017, Health Education England (HEE) set out the case for the need to target additional training support for clinical radiology, histopathology, oncology and diagnostic and therapeutic radiography. As committed to in the Cancer Workforce Plan, HEE increased the number of clinical radiology training programmes by 35 in 2017, which will lead to 35 additional clinical radiology posts each year for the next five years. Clinical radiology has achieved a 100% fill rate over the last four years. HEE will consider whether further action is required to increase net supply beyond 2021 in the light of the longer-term workforce strategy.

NHS: Migrant Workers

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to ensure that the UK's withdrawal from the EU does not adversely affect the number of medical professionals entering the UK to work in the NHS in (a) interventional radiology and (b) other understaffed positions.

Stephen Barclay: The Department continues to monitor and analyse overall staffing levels across the National Health Service and adult social care, and we are working across Government to ensure there will continue to be sufficient staff to deliver the high quality services on which patients rely following the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union. On 8 December the UK and EU Commission reached an agreement which delivered on the Prime Minister’s number one priority, to safeguard the rights of people who have built their lives in the UK and EU, following the UK’s exit from the EU. The latest nationality statistics show as at March 2018 4,558 more EU nationals excluding the UK (EU27) employed in NHS trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups than in June 2016. The agreement will guarantee the rights of the 158,000 EU nationals working in our health and care system. It means that EU citizens living lawfully in the UK and UK nationals living lawfully in the EU by 29 March 2019 will be able to stay and enjoy broadly the same rights and benefits as they do now. In addition to this, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sajid Javid) recently announced that doctors and nurses have been removed from the Tier 2 visa cap, meaning the NHS will be able to recruit to understaffed medical positions.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is monitoring the (a) number, (b) nature and (c) outcomes of calls to the breast cancer screening helpline; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: Public Health England has provided regular updates to Ministers on the helpline and the latest number of calls to the helpline at 20 June 2018 is 53,167. Some calls have required a range of different follow-up actions including conversations with clinical specialists, details of previous screens to be checked and arrangements for a further screen to be made.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what qualifications are required of the staff answering calls to the breast cancer screening helpline.

Steve Brine: The staff who answer the initial calls to the helpline are part of a call handling service with specific training for this issue. When specialist input is required, the call-handler arranges for a follow-up call from a professionally qualified person who is usually a nurse.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assistance his Department has provided for the relatives of women who died after not being called for mammograms under the national screening programme.

Steve Brine: Some relatives of women who have died have contacted Public Health England and they have been offered advice and support. A clinical assessment of the women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and did not receive a final invitation for screening between 2009 and 2018 has commenced and for the women who have died, the next of kin will be contacted and offered the chance to have the outcome of the assessment explained.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support has been provided for women contacting the breast cancer screening helpline who should have been offered screening appointments under the national mammogram programme but were not and have since developed breast cancer.

Steve Brine: The women who have contacted the helpline are offered a range of information and support, including access to a conversation with a health professional that can provide further advice.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the computer failure in the breast cancer screening programme.

Steve Brine: On 2 May my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care reported to Parliament a serious failure in the national breast screening programme in England and announced an independent review to investigate and report on the circumstances of the breast screening failure, which will include establishing the timeline of relevant events from 2009 to 2018 of the Age X trial and the national programme, including their administration and governance. The review will also assess the governance, assurance and accountability processes. Lynda Thomas, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, and Professor Martin Gore, consultant medical oncologist and professor of cancer medicine at the Royal Marsden, have been appointed as independent chairs and Peter Wyman from the Care Quality Commission has been appointed as the Vice Chair. The terms of reference have been published with the Written Ministerial Statement (HCWCS731) on 4 June 2018, and the review is due to report in November 2018.

Cervical Cancer

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Cancer Research UK's campaign on cervical screening announced on 11 June 2018, what assessment his Department has made of the ability of people to identify whether they have a cervix.

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the extent to which people know whether they have a prostate gland.

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the extent to which people are able to identify whether they have ovaries.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) has not made an assessment of the extent to which people can identify whether they have a cervix, prostate gland or ovaries. In July 2017, PHE published a leaflet that explains the National Health Service population screening programmes available to transgender and non-binary people in England; this can be accessed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-population-screening-information-for-transgender-people

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of current levels of (a) awareness and (b) accessibility of cervical cancer screening services in the London Borough of Newham.

Steve Brine: While there have been no specific surveys to determine the levels of awareness of cervical screening in Newham, national studies have found that the most common reasons women do not attend cervical screening include practical reasons such as forgetting to schedule an appointment and difficulties finding the time to attend; and limited knowledge of the benefits of screening, misconceptions of their personal risk of developing cervical cancer, fear of the result, fear of the discomfort of screening, and embarrassment. There is evidence that women from ethnic minority groups and for those for whom English is not a first language are less likely to participate in screening. Within Newham, NHS England is working with the Royal London cytology laboratory to undertake a workforce analysis of sample takers. This will identify any gaps in capacity and inform future workforce planning and provision. In 2018, NHS England will also commission cervical screening in sexual health clinics across Newham. This will provide better access to screening in addition to that provided within general practice.

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people held European Health Insurance cards as of 1 June 2018.

Stephen Barclay: As of 1 June 2018, there are 26,792,900 people who hold valid United Kingdom European Health Insurance Cards.

Learning Disability

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that information on learning disability is included in the training of healthcare staff.

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the provision of continuing professional development in respect of learning disabilities for all front-line health staff.

Caroline Dinenage: Employers have a statutory responsibility to provide sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced staff to meet the needs of the people using health services, including those with a learning disability. The Learning Disability Core Skills Education and Training Framework, published in July 2016 sets out the requisite skills and competencies that staff need to deliver care and support to people with a learning disability. The Framework sets out the necessary skills across three tiers. Tier 1, knowledge for roles that require general awareness of learning disabilities; Tier 2, knowledge and skills for roles that will have some regular contact with people with a learning disability and Tier 3, knowledge and skills for those providing care and support for people with a learning disability. Training should be provided in line with this Framework. Health Education England (HEE) is currently producing eLearning materials to support Tier 1 learning disability awareness training. This free online training will be available to all staff in 2019. HEE will also be writing to all education providers reminding them of the Learning Disability Core Skills Education and Training Framework and ask them to ensure that all staff groups include Tier 1 awareness training as a minimum. HEE also uses a workforce development fund to support the ongoing development of staff, with spending focused on priority areas, including staff working with people with learning disabilities and/or autism. Examples of the type of development that is supported includes, Positive Behavioural Support, Total Attachment Theory, Leadership programmes, Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction, Learning Disability Mortality, Building the Right Support, Early Positive Approaches to Support, Restraint Reduction, Positive Behavioural Support Workshops for family carers, Forensic learning disabilities skills, Trauma informed care and Autism. All nurses receive learning disabilities training as part of their pre-registration education. Curricula are set by individual education providers, to standards set by the professional regulators. Additionally, since April 2015, newly appointed health care assistants, including those who will provide care and support to people with a learning disability have been undergoing training as part of the national implementation of the Care Certificate. The Care Certificate equips new staff with the knowledge and skills which they need to provide safe, compassionate care across a range of areas, including the care of people with a learning disability. We have committed that there will be a response to each of the recommendations of the Learning Disabilities Mortality Review Programme annual report, including the recommendation on training. The response will be published soon.

Mental Health Services: Kent

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the per capita spend on mental health services was by primary care trusts in (a) Medway and (b) Kent in each of the last five years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The information requested is not available in the format requested because it is not possible to separate out mental health spend per capita, because primary care trusts were superseded by clinical commissioning groups in 2013, and because information is available for the previous two financial years only. Expenditure on mental health by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) is published by NHS England in the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health Dashboard. The actual spend for the Kent CCGs, including Medway CCG, on mental health for the years available is shown in the following table. Actual spend on mental health by CCGs in Kent. 2015/16 and 2016/17CCGActual Spend 2015/16 (£ thousand)Actual Spend 2016/17 (£ thousand)Ashford CCG14,37415,672Canterbury and Coastal CCG34,27436,388Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley CCG30,95832,126Medway CCG28,86930,447South Kent Coast CCG32,34933,609Swale CCG14,53515,240Thanet CCG24,57526,836West Kent CCG54,07757,190Source: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/taskforce/imp/mh-dashboard/

Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships: Staffordshire

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he last met the Chair of the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Sustainability and Transformation Partnership;  and when he is next scheduled to meet that chair.

Stephen Barclay: My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care last met with the Chair of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, Sir Neil McKay, on 18 December 2017. The Secretary of State was due to meet Sir Neil McKay on Tuesday 26 June, but this has had to be rescheduled due to diary pressures. However, the Secretary of State will meet Sir Neil McKay on 27 June alongside the Rt. hon. member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller). This is a follow-up roundtable meeting from one held on 7 March (which Sir Neil McKay also attended). I will be meeting with the Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) Chair, Sir Neil McKay, and local system partners to discuss the STP on Thursday 28 June 2018.

Orkambi

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2018 to Question 135633, on Orkambi, whether his Department has also written to NHS England in similar terms to encourage them to treat negotiations with urgency.

Steve Brine: The Department has not written to NHS England separately. NHS England are in full agreement with the Department regarding the urgency of negotiations. Officials from NHS England are meeting frequently with Vertex.

Rare Diseases: Drugs

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the suitability of processes of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for assessing rare disease medicines that do not meet the Highly Specialised Technology criteria.

Steve Brine: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on whether drugs and other treatments represent an effective use of NHS resources. NICE’s methods and processes for the assessment of drugs have been carefully developed over time and are internationally respected. NICE continues to keep its procedures under periodic review to ensure that they remain fit for purpose. All topics, including drugs for rare diseases, are considered through a rigorous topic selection process before formal referral to NICE to ensure that NICE guidance is appropriate and will add value. NICE assesses most significant new drugs through its technology appraisal programme and has been able to recommend a number of drugs licensed for the treatment of rare diseases for routine use on the NHS.

Mental Health Services

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of changes to funding for the doctorate in Clinical Psychology on the future provision of mental health services.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Health Education England is currently reviewing the funding policy model for a number of professions including clinical psychology, to enable the determination of a fair, just and equitable process for allocating these funds now and in the future for all those professions. This will include working in partnership with key stakeholders, including the British Psychological Society, to ensure the National Health Service continues to have the right people in the right place at the right time.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Policy

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what the main policy priority is for his Department for 2018; and if he will make a statement.

Alun Cairns: The Wales Office published an updated Single Departmental Plan on 23 May 2018. This set out the Department’s main policy objectives and how it will achieve them. Single Departmental Plans will be revised annually to reflect new priorities or changes in responsibilities.

Department for Education

Academies: Asbestos

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to bring forward legislation requiring academies to have an asbestos management plan that is audited annually; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Department takes the issue of asbestos in schools seriously and is committed to supporting schools, local authorities and academy trusts to fulfil their duty to manage asbestos safely.It is the responsibility of the duty holder to ensure that any asbestos in their schools is safely managed in compliance with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. For maintained schools, the duty holder is typically a governing body or local authority. For academies, the duty holder is typically an academy trust. Duty holders are already required to have an asbestos management plan in place where asbestos is present or is likely to be present. Management plans must be reviewed and revised at regular intervals, and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the relevant regulator.The Department launched the Asbestos Management Assurance Process on 1 March 2018. This process will enable Responsible Bodies to provide an assurance declaration that their schools are complying with the regulations. The process was developed to help the Department to improve its understanding of asbestos management in schools. Through working with the HSE, the Department can help local authorities, governing bodies and academy trusts to manage asbestos-related issues effectively.

Students: Loans

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assistance his Department gives to people just above the threshold for repayment of their student loans.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Borrowers earning just above the repayment threshold will make relatively small repayments as the repayment amount is based on paying 9% (for Plan 1 and Plan 2 loans) or 6% (for Post-graduate loans) of income above the repayment threshold. The repayment thresholds are currently £18,330 for Plan 1 loans, £25,000 for Plan 2 loans, £21,000 post graduate loans. For example a borrower with a Plan 2 loan with an income of £26,000 a year, will pay £90 per year (or £7.50 per month). Borrowers earning below the repayment threshold pay nothing at all.

Academies: Asbestos

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has assessed the asbestos management plans for academies for which Carillion was previously responsible; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Department takes the issue of asbestos in schools seriously and is committed to supporting schools, local authorities and academy trusts to fulfil their duty to manage asbestos safely.It is the duty holder’s responsibility to ensure that any asbestos in their schools is safely managed in compliance with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. For maintained schools, the duty holder is typically a governing body or local authority. For academies, the duty holder is typically an academy trust. Duty holders are already required to have an asbestos management plan in place where asbestos is present or is likely to be present. Management plans must be reviewed and revised at regular intervals, and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the relevant regulator.On any occasions where Carillion has provided support services to schools, local authorities and academy trusts would have to continue to be the duty holder for asbestos management. Local authorities and trusts are responsible for their own support contracts. The Department contacted affected local authorities and academy trusts ahead of Carillion’s failure to ensure that they had appropriate contingency plans in place for services provided by Carillion. The Department is continuing to work with local authorities and trusts who still have contracts with Carillion to ensure that any disruption is minimised. The Government is supporting the Official Receiver so that services to schools can continue until alternative arrangements are put in place.

Higher Education: Bexley

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many young people from (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (b) Bexley Borough went to university in each of the last five years.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) publishes data on the proportion of 18 years old entering full-time undergraduate higher education by parliamentary constituency, region and country. UCAS do not publish data by local authority.The entry rates for the last five years for Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency, London and England are shown in the table below:Table 1 – 18 year old entry rates to full-time higher education (HE)Year2013/142014/152015/162016/172017/18Bexleyheath and Crayford29.6%31.8%34.9%36.5%37.4%London35.2%36.6%38.7%39.9%41.8%England29.2%30.4%31.3%32.5%33.3%The Department for Education publishes data on the percentage of 15 year old pupils from state-funded and special schools who entered higher education by age 19 by local authority, region and England.The figures for the latest five years are shown below:Table 2 – Estimated percentage of 15 year old pupils who entered HE by age 19 by academic yearYear2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15Bexley Borough35%37%40%40%43%London43%45%46%46%49%England35%36%37%37%38%

Overseas Students: India

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the level of fee income to higher education providers arising from the tuition fees of students of Indian nationality in each financial year since 2012-13.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes information on the income and expenditure of UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). While information on tuition fee income to HEIs is not broken down by country of nationality, HESA has published tuition fee income for non-EU domiciled students. In 2016/17, UK Higher Education Institutions received £4.7 billion in tuition fee income from non-EU domiciled students. This is an increase from  £3.5 billion in academic year 2012/13.

Schools: Knives

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will encourage Ofsted to recommend that schools to accept knife arches and other anti-knife crime measures on their premises to help dissuade children from carrying weapons for self-defence or other purposes; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: No one should ever feel the need to take weapons into schools. It is unacceptable and doing so is a criminal offence. Schools have a statutory power to search for and confiscate prohibited items such as knives and weapons. The Department has produced advice for schools which makes it clear that school staff can search pupils or their possessions, without consent where there are reasonable grounds to do so. This guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/searching-screening-and-confiscation. If a pupil refuses to be searched, then the school may bar them from its premises. The Department is also working with the Home Office and other stakeholders, including the Police, Ofsted and the Health and Safety Executive, on updating its school security advice. This will reference knife crime and encourage schools to develop policies and cultures to help address the issue of carrying knives.

Special Educational Needs: Inspections

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made on the suitability of the criteria given to Ofsted inspectors when reviewing (a) special educational needs schools and (b) special educational needs bases in mainstream schools.

Nick Gibb: As part of school inspections, inspectors are required to report on the extent to which the education provided at the school meets the needs of pupils with special educational needs. The inspection criteria are the responsibility of HM Chief Inspector, and are set out in Ofsted’s framework and school inspection handbook. Ofsted is currently reviewing its inspection arrangements and intends to introduce a new framework from September 2019. The Department is engaging with Ofsted on this.

Education and Skills Funding Agency

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2018 to Question 147900 on the Education and Skills Funding Agency, what the budget was for administrating the schools system; and  how many staff were employed by the Education and Skills Funding Agency to administer that system in each of the last three financial years.

Anne Milton: The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) began its first year of operation on 1 April 2017.The figures provided below do not include budget spend or headcount for the ESFA Capital, Further Education and Apprenticeship teams.The budget for administering the school system was £29 million at April 2017 and £33 million at April 2018.The number of staff employed to administer the schools system was 520 in April 2017 and 566 in April 2018.The figures include headcount and budget spend for the ESFA Intervention and Young Peoples Funding and ESFA Academies and Maintained Schools Groups.Please note that staff within these teams may not spend 100 per cent of their time working on matters related to academies, maintained schools and school sixth forms.

Foreign Students

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students have enrolled in international higher education programmes in each of the last five years.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Data on UK students studying abroad is published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at tertiary level and is available at the following link: http://uis.unesco.org/en/uis-student-flow. Tertiary education is defined as International Standard Classification of Education levels 5-8.YearNumber of UK students studying tertiary education programmes abroad201328,566201429,975201531,433201633,111201733,109Source: UNESCO, Internationally mobile tertiary students studying abroad (2013-2017)

Pupils: Low Incomes

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional funding his Department provides to schools to support students in low income households in (a) North Cornwall constituency and b) London.

Nick Gibb: The pupil premium grant is given to schools specifically to support disadvantaged pupils to reach their potential. In 2017-18, North Cornwall had 2,822 pupils who were eligible for the pupil premium and schools were allocated £3.2 million. In London, 373,523 pupils were eligible and schools were allocated £437.1 million. The full 2017-18 allocations can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-2017-to-2018. Both London and Cornwall received the same amount of funding through the pupil premium for each primary school pupil and for each secondary school pupil.In addition, the national funding formula allocates additional funding in respect of pupils who are currently eligible for free school meals (FSM), or who have been at any point in the past six years. Each primary school pupil currently eligible for FSM attracts £980 through the formula, and each secondary pupil attracts £1,225. These rates are the same across the country. Further details on the national funding formula can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-tables-for-schools-and-high-needs.

First Aid: Curriculum

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will assess the potential merits of including cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the student curriculum.

Nick Gibb: Schools are already able to teach emergency first aid and life-saving skills in a variety of ways, for example through the wider curriculum, assemblies or Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education. In doing so, schools are able to draw on curriculum materials from expert organisations such as the PSHE Association and free teaching kits such as those from the British Heart Foundation. As part of our reforms to relationships education and relationships and sex education, the Department has been considering whether to make PSHE education compulsory. This has included holding a call for evidence and engaging with organisations such as the British Heart Foundation, the British Red Cross and St John Ambulance. We will be publishing the results from this engagement shortly, alongside revised statutory guidance, before the guidance and the associated regulations, are debated in Parliament.

Special Educational Needs: Jarrow

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities in Jarrow constituency are adequately funded to deliver effective special educational needs.

Nick Gibb: Funding for special educational needs (SEN) comes from both the schools block and high needs block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG).When setting the local formula which determines the distribution of the schools block, local authorities are required to delegate funds to a level that enables mainstream schools to meet the additional cost of pupils with SEN, up to £6,000 per annum, from their annual budget.When a school can demonstrate that the costs of additional support required for a pupil with SEN exceed £6,000, the local authority should allocate additional top-up funding to cover the excess costs. This funding comes from the authority’s high needs budget. The high needs budget also covers the costs of place funding, at £10,000 per place, for all special schools.The introduction this year of national funding formulae for allocating both schools and high needs funding to local authorities is supported by significant extra investment of £1.3 billion across 2018-19 and 2019-20, over and above the budget announced at the 2015 spending review. This will allow us to maintain schools and high needs funding in real terms per pupil for the next two years, and ensures that local authorities will see additional funding for their most vulnerable children and young people.The Gateshead and South Tyneside councils are both receiving increases in funding for 2018-19, proportionate to pupil number and movement changes, compared to what they planned to spend in 2017-18. Gateshead Council will receive £22.1 million in high needs funding, a 2.8% increase on what they planned to spend in 2017-18. South Tyneside Council will receive £19.6 million in high needs funding, a 3.3 per cent increase on what they planned to spend in 2017-18.

Children: Communication Skills

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support opportunity areas in the development of plans to improve speech, language and communications skills among children and young people.

Nadhim Zahawi: We know that having poor speech, language and communication skills can hold children back at school and limit their life chances thereafter. This was identified as an issue in all 12 of the Opportunity Areas. We are putting plans in place to address this. For example: In Stoke-on-Trent we are building on the successful “Stoke Speaks Out” initiative, extending this to 25 primary schools with lower than average numbers of children attaining a Good Level of Development by the end of their reception year. This is a proven approach to providing targeted, specialist support for early language, communication and literacy; In Oldham, we have committed to ensuring that all children are school ready by the age of five, and have already completed training 29 schools and settings in our Making it REAL programme, which focusses on early literacy and development. 254 children have already been supported; and In the North Yorkshire Coast OA, we have commissioned work to develop improved speech, language and communication support for children in the early years. 25 primary schools will participate in this.  We are working to ensure that the learning from these initiatives will be shared across other areas of the country facing challenges.

Special Educational Needs: Teachers

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to ensure that the identification of speech, language and communication problems are a core requirement of Level 2 qualifications for early years teachers.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Early Years Workforce Strategy, published in March 2017, included a commitment that the department would develop criteria for the content of level 2 early years practitioner qualifications. An expert reference group provided advice, guidance and challenge. Membership of the group included academics, technical, employer and training provider expertise. In December 2017, we published a 12-week online consultation seeking views on the proposed criteria. We are now revising the criteria based on the consultation feedback and will publish them with a government response by September. The criteria will require qualifications to include skills and knowledge to support early language development and children with additional needs. The Early Years Workforce Strategy is at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-workforce-strategy.   The level 2 qualification consultation documents are at: https://consult.education.gov.uk/childcare-providers-and-regulation/improving-level-2-qualifications-for-the-early-edu/.

Children in Care and Homelessness: Coventry

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of (a) children in local authority care and (b) homeless people in Coventry.

Nadhim Zahawi: Holding answer received on 26 June 2018



In most cases, children are best looked after by their families and children are only removed as a last resort. The government has invested up to £200 million through the Innovation Programme to develop better practice in Children’s Social Care, including testing approaches to help vulnerable children to remain safely at home. Coventry City Council, for example, has been awarded funding to trail children in need in the area receiving targeted, multi-agency support that works with families to reduce the need for repeat referrals, escalation to child protection measures or entry to care.The government believes that anyone without a home is one too many. It is for this reason that we have committed £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping and are producing a cross-government strategy, which will set out how we will halve rough sleeping by 2022 and end it by 2027. This strategy is due to be published next month. The government has also implemented the Homelessness Reduction Act in April this year, which will help more people to get the help they need at an earlier stage.

Children: Day Care

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Free childcare to be extended to foster carers for the first time, published on 21 June 2018, what additional funds have been provided from HM Treasury to fund widening the range of childcare available from the Government.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Free childcare to be extended to foster carers for the first time, published on 21 June 2018, what estimate has he made of the additional cost to the public purse of providing 30 hours of free childcare to foster parents.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Free childcare to be extended to foster carers for the first time, published on 21 June 2018, whether he has made a revised estimate of the total forecast expenditure on the provision of 30 hours of free childcare for 3 and 4-year-olds in each of the next three financial years.

Nadhim Zahawi: Extending 30 hours free children to children in foster care for the first time, marks a significant step forward in improving the support available for foster families who work, allowing them to take up the additional 15 hours of free childcare already available to other working parents since September 2017.This change is to enable those foster parents who are in paid work outside their role as a foster parent to access this support, where it is right for the child. So, it will not be appropriate for every child in foster care and we expect the uptake from foster parents to be small.We will fund local authorities for all eligible children accessing 30 hours, including those children in foster care accessing 30 hours, based on the January census in the usual way. All costs will be met through existing budgets.

Ministry of Justice

Voyeurism

Mrs Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason the Government classified up-skirting as a sex offence.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Courts: ICT

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2018 to Question 148950 on Courts: ICT, how many (a) victims and (b) witnesses the Government plans to consult with when undertaking its research into the effect of its digital courts reform programme on victims and witnesses.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2018 to Question 148950 on Courts: ICT, when the Government plans to begin research on the effect of its digital courts reform programme on victims and witnesses; and what budget he plan to allocate to that research.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2018 to Question 148950, on Courts: ICT, what form the research will take that the Government plans to undertake into the effect of its digital courts reform programme on victims and witnesses.

Lucy Frazer: Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has in place an established Victim and Witness Engagement Group which meets every six weeks and includes membership from organisations which directly represent the Victim and Witness community. The group’s main role is to collaborate with HMCTS to review aspects of proposed Court reform, ensuring that HMCTS both hears and integrates the voice of Victims and Witnesses within reformed services, promoting a service that is inclusive, user-focused, and which does not discriminate against the vulnerable or disadvantaged. In addition, the HMCTS Reform Programme is developing plans for primary research with victims and witnesses. This will include qualitative research interviews - with appropriate safeguards - and will provide insight into victim and witness experience in order to inform the design of future services. Because this work is still being planned, HMCTS is not, at this stage, able to say how many victims and witnesses will be engaged, or to set out the cost of the research. HMCTS will also draw on existing published quantitative and qualitative research on victims and witnesses in its designing services.

Personal Injury: Compensation

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of increasing the small claims track from £1,000 to £5,000 for soft tissue injury on claimants' access to justice.

Rory Stewart: A full legislative stage impact assessment including analysis of the impacts of increasing the small claims track from £1,000 to £5,000 for all road traffic accident personal injury claims has been published on the Parliamentary website and can be downloaded here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2017-2019/0090/civil-liability-IA3.pdf.

Sentencing: First Offenders

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of short-term prison sentences on the long-term mental health of first-time offenders.

Rory Stewart: Public protection is our priority. Custody should be a last resort, to protect the public and to punish and rehabilitate offenders. Short-term sentences offer limited public protection, and can fail to offer time for meaningful rehabilitative activity. There is persuasive evidence that short custodial sentences of less than 12 months are less effective in reducing reoffending than community penalties and we will be looking at what more we can do to emphasise that short custodial sentences should be viewed as a last resort. We want to ensure that the public and judiciary have confidence in non-custodial sentences - such as effective community orders - which directly tackle the causes of reoffending, including alcohol or drug abuse. Providing the right interventions at the right time is vital to improving outcomes for people with mental health issues and there is ongoing work to divert offenders away from custody where appropriate. We continue to support NHS England’s roll out of Liaison and Diversion services, which are currently operating at over 80% of the country and full rollout is expected by 2020/21. We are also working with the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and Public Health England to develop a Community Sentence Treatment Requirement (CSTR) Protocol. This aims to increase the use of community sentences with mental health, drug and alcohol treatment requirements as an alternative to custody. For individuals who are sentenced to custody, it is crucial that we work to create healthy, supportive prison environments. We already know that prisoners are more likely to have poor physical and mental health than the general population and that being in prison can exacerbate these issues. That is why we have ensured that over 3,100 new staff are in post to enable us to implement the key worker role, allowing staff dedicated time to provide support to individual prisoners. We have also recently updated our suicide and self-harm prevention training and, since April 2017, it has reached over 15,500 new and existing staff. The ACCT process is also being revised to make the documents easier to use and to ensure the focus is on the support the prisoner needs. These initiatives and others mean that we will be able to better support individuals with mental health needs regardless of the length of their sentence.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Senior Civil Servants: Equality

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the publication of the single departmental plan 2018, what his targets are for increasing diversity in the Senior Civil Service.

James Brokenshire: Civil Service wide Diversity targets for entrants to the Senior Civil Service were published on 5 June 2018: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-diversity-inclusion-dashboard/civil-service-diversity-and-inclusion-dashboard. MHCLG intends to publish its Department level targets alongside other Government Departments, shortly.

Opencast Mining: County Durham

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether any errors were made in the appeal decision on planning permission for the proposed Bradley open-cast coal mine in County Durham.

Dominic Raab: Planning permission for Bradley open cast coal mine was granted on appeal by an independent Planning Inspector on 3 June 2015 following a public inquiry. No legal challenge to the decision was made and no other representations were received during the statutory challenge period pointing to errors in the decision.

Homes and Communities Agency: Public Appointments

Emma Dent Coad: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reason the Vice-Chair of the Regulation Committee at the Homes & Communities Agency was appointed as the Interim Chair for a period of 12 months instead of a permanent appointee being recruited.

Dominic Raab: The previous Chair, Julian Ashby, stepped down unexpectedly in January 2018 to take up another position which could have been perceived to be a conflict of interest. The decision was taken to appoint the deputy Chair into the role of Interim Chair for a period of 12 months to provide continuity as the Regulator of Social Housing becomes a stand alone organsiation. A campaign to recruit the permanent Chair will launch after the publication of the Social Housing Green Paper to ensure the job specification fully reflects the Government’s priorities for social housing.

Homes and Communities Agency: Public Appointments

Emma Dent Coad: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will place in the Library a copy of the (a) Job Description and (b) Person Specification for the role of Chair of the Regulation Committee of the Homes and Communities Agency.

Dominic Raab: A copy of the current job description will be placed in the Library. This will be refreshed, alongside the person specification, ahead of launching a campaign to recruit a permanent Chair later in the year. They will be posted on the Centre for Public Appointments website when the recruitment campaign launches. The appointment will be run in line with Civil Service Commissioners/Centre for Public Appointments guidance.

Housing: Rural Areas

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to deliver more new homes to rural areas.

Dominic Raab: Our draft revised National Planning Policy Framework makes it clear that in rural areas, planning policies and decisions should be supportive of housing development that reflect local needs. The Framework retains the rural exception sites policy that promotes affordable housing led development in rural areas.The revised draft Framework also acknowledges that in rural areas, sites may need to be found outside existing settlements, to meet community needs. We are currently analysing responses to the consultation and intend to publish the final version of the Framework this summer.

Derelict Land: Coventry

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support local authorities in Coventry that have a shortage of brownfield sites with exemptions under the proposals for the National Plan.

Dominic Raab: Holding answer received on 26 June 2018



The draft revised National Planning Policy Framework promotes the effective use of land, including brownfield sites.The Government has agreed a bespoke housing package with the West Midlands Combined Authority, which includes Coventry, that will see 215,000 homes delivered by 2030/1. Through the package we have backed the ambition of the Mayor through a Land Fund of up to £100 million to acquire and bring land forward around priority sites across the area.

System Building: Safety

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance has his Department has issued to local authorities on the safety of Large Panel System structures.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 26 June 2018



The Department wrote to local authorities last year drawing their attention to safety issues which had been identified in respect of large panel system buildings. Work is underway to review and revise the guidance in the Handbook for the Structural Assessment of Large Panel System (LPS) Dwelling Blocks for accidental loading (BR 511), to help local authorities and housing associations assess any risks to large panel system dwelling blocks and whether remedial action may be needed.

Ministry of Defence

Veterans: Mental Health

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2018 to Question 151105 on Veterans: Social Security Benefits, what training is offered by his Department to staff of the Department for Work and Pensions to increase their understanding of veterans' mental health.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence's Veterans Welfare Service (VWS) works closely with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and provides regular briefings on the remit of the VWS to the designated Armed Forces Champions in DWP, many of whom are ex-Service personnel.The VWS uses these opportunities to raise awareness of veterans' issues, including mental health. VWS staff also participate in Armed Forces Covenant meetings, which include members of DWP and many of the Service charities.

Veterans: Skilled Workers

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2018 to Question 151105 on Veterans: Social Security Benefits, what information his Department provides to the Department for Work and Pensions to increase the understanding of their staff of the transferable skills that veterans have acquired in the military.

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2018 to Question 151105 on Veterans: Social Security Benefits, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that qualifications acquired in the military are (a) transferable and (b) equivalent to civilian qualifications.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) maintains a strategic partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) through the Armed Forces Covenant Reference Group and has regular formal discussions with DWP through the Armed Forces Covenant Team to support the transition of veterans into employment. DWP's network of Armed Forces Champions, many of whom are veterans themselves, work with MOD's Career Transition Partnership (CTP) developing understanding of military transferable skills. The MOD's resettlement provision is designed to help personnel leaving the Armed Forces to prepare for entering the civilian job market and to make a successful transition to employment or to achieve the wider vocational outcome they seek. The provision entitles Service leavers, depending on their discharge category, to access to CTP Services which teaches Service leavers how to articulate their transferable skills.The provision of opportunities to gain nationally recognised civilian qualifications throughout the accreditation of education, training and experience is an important part of military personnel strategy. Service personnel have opportunities throughout their career to accredit their skills to equivalent civilian qualifications. The Defence Awarding Organisation exists to promote vocational accreditation. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/707712/1803-7606__DAO_Qualification_Booklet_b.pdf All three Services have accreditation opportunities in place. Additionally, apprenticeships, which provide recognised civilian qualifications, are firmly embedded across Armed Forces initial training, with 98% of all recruits enrolling in an apprenticeship each year. The MOD is the single largest deliverer of apprenticeships in the UK with around 20,000 apprentices at any one time.

Radioactive Materials: Transport

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps are being taken to learn the lessons from the emergency planning exercise undertaken at Prestwick on the transport of nuclear materials.

Guto Bebb: The Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator (DNSR) concluded that the Nuclear Emergency Response Exercise in question, Exercise Senator 2011, achieved its stated objectives.We maintain a robust change and improvement process to ensure that all lessons for the transportation of nuclear materials, however they are identified, are actioned.The DNSR assessment report for Exercise Senator 2011 contained five findings, four of which have been formally closed out. The final one has been addressed and we expect it to be fully closed out by the end of the year.

Veterans: Employment

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of encouraging serving military personnel coming to the end of their military service to take up careers in the scaffolding industry.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence provides all Service leavers with resettlement provision to help prepare them for entering the civilian job market and to make a successful transition to employment, or achieve the wider vocational outcome they seek. The provision entitles Service leavers, depending on their discharge category, to duty time, financial assistance and access to Career Transition Partnership Services.

Capita

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the award of the Defence Fire and Rescue Project contract to Capita and previous contracts with that company withdrawn or ended by the Government early, what assessment his Department has made of the ability of Capita to deliver (a) that service and (b) value for money in the delivery of that service.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Defence Fire and Rescue Project will deliver improvements in the safety of firefighter personnel through greater investment in improved firefighting technology, training and equipment whilst ensuring the Ministry of Defence continues to receive the global fire and rescue capability it needs.Bidder proposals for the project were evaluated by subject matter experts against criteria which included technical deliverability, commercial and financial aspects. The proposals have also been subject to a rigorous scrutiny, assurance and approvals process undertaken by Ministry of Defence, Cabinet Office and HM Treasury staff.

Capita

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what contingency plans his Department has in place in the event that Capita is unable to complete the Defence Fire and Rescue Project contract.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Capita's proposal has been subjected to the fullest range of testing and scrutiny across Government to ensure that the services will be delivered in a sustainable and resilient manner.Maintaining contingency plans is Defence's routine approach when outsourcing and this includes the Defence Fire and Rescue project in the event of a change in circumstances with Capita. The contingency plans ensure that if the contract was to fail there would be minimal disruption to the delivery of appropriate fire risk management services to Defence.

AWACS

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Sentry aircraft the RAF owns; and what proportion of those aircraft are at a level of operational readiness.

Mark Lancaster: I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Minister for Defence Procurement (Guto Bebb) gave to the hon. Member for Edinburgh North and Leith (Deidre Brock) on 16 May 2018 to Question 142886.



Military Aircraft
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AWACS

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the number of Sentry aircraft required to fulfil the UK’s commitments in (a) Syria, (b) Iraq and (c) the Baltic states.

Mark Lancaster: The RAF has sufficient Sentry aircraft to meet its current defence commitments.

Defence: Procurement

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many defence procurement contracts his Department has (a) put out to open competition and (b) awarded without a competition process since 2012.

Guto Bebb: Information about the number of contracts awarded through competition and single-source arrangements is published in the Trade Industry and Contracts Statistical Bulletin, which can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-trade-industry-and-contracts-2017A detailed breakdown for all years since 2009-10 is contained within the Excel workbook.

Defence: Procurement

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many defence procurement contracts his Department has awarded to (a) BAE, (b) Airbus, (c) Leonardo, (d) Raytheon and (e) Marshalls since 2012.

Guto Bebb: Information on how many contracts the Ministry of Defence has awarded since 2012 to these companies is provided below. BAE Systems420Airbus50Leonardo317Raytheon40Marshall23 It should be noted that, due to shared ownership, some contracts will appear more than once. This is the case, for example, where contracts have been awarded to MBDA, in which BAE Systems, Leonardo and Airbus all have a share. For completeness, any such contract is included in each of the company totals.

Defence: Procurement

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has estimated the average additional value to his Department of awarding defence procurement contracts without going through a competitive process; and if he will make a statement.

Guto Bebb: The Ministry of Defence does not calculate an average additional value for single source procurement as the decision to take this route will be based on a range of factors specific to that particular programme.

Armed Forces: Mental Health Services

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many calls the Military Mental Health Helpline has received since it was launched.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many calls the Military Mental Health Helpline has received from people who joined the army aged (a) 16, (b) 17, (c) 18, and (d) over 18 since that helpline was launched.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Since its launch on 25 February 2018, the Combat Stress 24-hour Mental Health Helpline has received 571 calls (as of 18 Jun 2018).Callers to the helpline are not asked at what age they joined the Armed Forces and therefore this data is not captured.

Forces Help to Buy Scheme

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness Forces Help To Buy Scheme.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The aim of the Forces Help To Buy (FHTB) scheme is to encourage and support home ownership amongst Service personnel, which has historically been lower than the general population. Since its introduction in 2014 FHTB has helped over 14,300 Service personnel purchase their own property, totalling over £215 million, an average of approximately £15,000 per claim. The Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey 2018 indicates that since 2015 the proportion of Other Ranks owning their own home has increased by 5%. The independent Armed Forces' Pay Review Body stated in their 2017 report that FHTB is a success.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Food: Imports

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to ensure that future trade agreements enable the UK to require imports of (a) meat, (b) milk and (c) eggs to meet UK (i) animal welfare and (ii) food safety standards.

George Eustice: The Government are proud of the high food safety and animal welfare standards that underpin our high-quality Great British produce. We have no intention of undercutting our own reputation for quality by lowering our food and animal welfare standards in pursuit of a trade deal. Any future trade agreements must work for consumers, farmers, and businesses in the UK.

Home Office

Immigration: EU Nationals

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has undertaken a risk analysis of the Settled Status scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: We recognise the scale of the challenge, and work is well underway to build the EU Settlement Scheme from scratch, with new processes, technology, rules and support for applicants. As is standard for government’s approach to delivery of programmes, we have in place project management tools designed to detect and mitigate risks, provide additional confidence and ensure safe delivery of the SchemeWe will be providing further detail on the Scheme in due course.

Immigrants: Detainees

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were released from immigration detention on the basis of Rule 35(1) and Rule 35(3) reports at each Immigration Removal Centre in (a) 2017 and (b) 2016.

Caroline Nokes: The total number of releases from all Immigration Removal Centres (IRC) due to Rule 35 reports are published as part of the Migration Transparency data under the category ‘Reports made by a medical practitioner under Rule 35 by place of detention’. This can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-dataThe attached table provides a breakdown of Rule 35 releases into the sub categories of R35 (1) and R35 (3). This is provisional management information, taken from a live operational database and the numbers are subject to change.

Road Traffic Offences: Mobile Phones

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been convicted of driving whilst using a mobile phone in each of the last five years.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not hold data on convictions. This data is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice.

Visas: Overseas Students

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria his Department used to determine which countries qualified for the recent relaxation of Tier 4 visa requirements for overseas students.

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria were considered by his Department which led to the decision not to relax Tier 4 visa requirements for overseas students from India.

Caroline Nokes: Careful consideration is given to which countries could be added to Appendix H of the Immigration Rules, taking into account objective analysis of a range of factors including the volume of students from a country and their Tier 4 immigration compliance risk.The list of countries in Appendix H will be regularly updated to reflect the fact that countries’ risk profiles change over time.

Police: Personation

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information his Department holds on the number of people who were convicted of an offence of impersonating a police officer while riding a motorcycle in 2017.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not hold information on prosecutions and convictions. Information on prosecutions and convictions is held and published by the Ministry of Justice.

Immigration

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the immigration exemption in forthcoming data protection legislation, if he will make it his policy that no information relating to the case of a member of the Windrush generation, their children or someone who arrived in the UK between 1973 and 1988 will be withheld from that person if they request their personal data.

Caroline Nokes: When the Department receives a request for access to personal data, the data will be provided except where to do so would be likely to prejudice effective immigration control.The Department will handle any request for access to personal data held by the Home Office on its merits.

Asylum: Housing

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department was aware of recent concerns raised about cockroaches, rodents and bedbugs and other substandard environmental conditions in privately-run asylum housing properties; and for what reason such properties nonetheless passed all compliance regulations and local authority property standards.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans his Department has to review the compliance regulations and local authority property standards of privately-run asylum housing properties.

Caroline Nokes: The United Kingdom has a statutory obligation to provide destitute asylum seekers with accommodation, transportation and cash/subsistence support whilst their application for asylum is being considered. UKVI discharges their statutory duty via a suite of COMPASS contracts with three providers; G4S, Serco and Clearsprings Ready Homes. UKVI do not accommodate service users in privately run asylum housing propertiesAccommodation providers are required to provide safe, habitable, fit for purpose and correctly equipped accommodation that complies with the Decent Homes Standard in addition to standards outlined in relevant national or local housing legislationThe contract requires Providers to inspect each property every month and UKVI inspects a significant proportion of properties each year to ensure standards are being met. Where asylum accommodation is found to be falling short of the required standards UKVI has procedures in place to hold suppliers to account to quickly resolve the issue.

Immigration

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason people with indefinite leave to remain do not receive (a) biometric cards and (b) no time limit status (a) automatically and (b) free of charge.

Caroline Nokes: The cost to process the biometric residence permit has been included as part of the overall application fee since 2008. Individuals seeking to upgrade legacy documents or replace their biometric residence permits are required to cover the cost of processing the application. There are some limited concessions for certain applicants, such as refugees.

Migrant Workers: Deportation

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many migrant workers have been deported as a result of (a) exceeding their 20-day annual limit on unpaid leave from work and (b) participating in strike action.

Caroline Nokes: The requested information is not published by the Home Office, and could only be compiled manually and at a disproportionate cost.

NHS: Migrant Workers

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Office, what plans he has to ensure that the number of medical professionals entering the UK to work in the NHS in understaffed positions including interventional radiology is maintained when the UK leave the EU.

Caroline Nokes: The Government values the contribution which migrants makes to the NHSWe have commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to advise on the economic and social impacts of the UK’s exit from the EU and also on how the UK’s immigration system should be aligned with a modern industrial strategy. The Government will want to ensure that decisions on the long-term arrangements are based on evidence. The commission that we have asked the MAC to undertake is very much part of this. The MAC are due to publish their final report by September 2018.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has carried out a risk assessment of the planned registration scheme for EU citizens after the UK leaves the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: As is standard for government’s approach to delivery of programmes, we have in place project management tools designed to detect and mitigate risks, provide additional confidence and ensure safe delivery of the registration scheme for EU citizens after the UK leaves the EUWe will be providing further detail on the scheme in due course.

Doctors: Migrant Workers

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many doctors working in the UK on a Tier 2 visa work in the NHS.

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many nurses working in the UK on a Tier 2 visa work in the NHS.

Caroline Nokes: NHS workforce statistics are the responsibility of NHS Digital and are published at https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics/nhs-workforce-statistics-june-2017-provisional-statistics

Immigration

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of  the most recent reports of the EU Devolved Administration Migration Analysis Group.

Caroline Nokes: The Government is aware of the reports of the EU Devolved Administration Migration Analysis Group and it considers a wide range of views when assessing the implications of policies.

Asylum: Detainees

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people are in indefinite detention as a result of their (a) asylum status and (b) status as a refugee being in dispute.

Caroline Nokes: Although there is no statutory time limit on detention under Immigration Act powers, the law does not allow indefinite detention. For detention to be lawful there must be a realistic prospect of removal in a reasonable timescale. Individuals are detained for no longer than is necessary. Detention in all cases is kept under regular review to ensure that it is both necessary and appropriate.The number of people held in detention as a result of the revocation or dispute of their refugee status is not held in a format which is reportable. However, the number of people who have been detained and have raised an asylum claim can be found on table dt_05 of Immigration Statistics; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2018/how-many-people-are-detained-or-returned#immigration-detention

Immigration: EEA Nationals

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether EEA citizens, who are not covered as part of the withdrawal agreement, will be able to apply for settled status.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether section 322(5) of the immigration rules will be applied to EU citizens applying for settled status.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to (a) identify and (b) protect victims of domestic abuse who are reliant on their partners for their immigration status as part of the EU settlement scheme.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral statement of 21 June 2018 on EU Settlement Scheme, whether the dedicated customer contact centre has been set up; who will staff that centre; and whether information disclosed to that centre will be passed to immigration enforcement officials.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral statement of 21 June 2018 on EU Settlement Scheme, whether the online application scheme for EU Settlement will be accessible on (a) an iphone (b) other smartphones and (c) all types of tablet.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Oral Statement of 21 June 2018 on EU Settlement Scheme, how many locations will be established for people to use the EU settlement app or be helped to do so; and where such centres will be located in the regions and nations of the UK.

Caroline Nokes: As I set out in my Oral Statement on the EU Settlement Scheme on 21 June and in responding to questions on it (column 508-520), the online application process for the scheme will be short, simple and user-friendly. It will be accessible through a computer, tablet or smartphone, and the optional app for identity verification will be accessible on compatible devices. More information will be published in due course about the locations which applicants will also be able to visit to use the app or be helped to do so, and about the customer contact centre which will be established to help applicants through the process and how that centre will operate.I also confirmed that we intend that the settlement scheme described in the Statement of Intent I published yesterday will be open to citizens of the other European Economic Area states (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and Switzerland, and their family members, on a similar basis as for EU citizens.Consistent with the draft Withdrawal Agreement, the draft Immigration Rules for the scheme contained in the Statement of Intent reflect the provision made by the Free Movement Directive for victims of domestic abuse to retain their right of residence following the termination of their marriage or civil partnership, so they will not need to rely on their former spouse or civil partner in order to obtain UK immigration status under the scheme. Also, consistent with the draft agreement, the draft Rules contain requirements as to suitability which reflect the application of the current EU public policy tests to conduct before the end of the implementation period on 31 December 2020 and do not provide for paragraph 322(5) of the Immigration Rules to apply to applications made under the scheme.

Immigration

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to publish a White Paper on immigration before the summer recess; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: The Government is considering a range of options for the future immigration system which will begin from 2021, and will set out initial plans later this year. We have asked the independent Migration Advisory committee (MAC) to advise on the economic and social impacts of the UK’s exit from the EUThe Government will have sufficient time to take account of the MAC’s advice when making any final decisions about our future immigration system, which would be implemented from 2021.

Immigration: Taxation

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Immigration of 4 June 2018, Official Report, column 5, how many of the tax discrepancies penalised under paragraph 322(5) of the immigration rules have been in the tens of thousands of pounds; and at what level of discrepancy paragraph 322(5) can be applied.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timetable is for the completion of his Department's review of the use of paragraph 322(5); and if he will publish the findings of that review.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the terms of reference are for his Department's review of the use of paragraph 322(5) of the Immigration Rules.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his letter to the Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, published on 29 May 2018, whether his Department has contacted any of the 18 people who were refused Indefinite Leave to Remain; and whether his Department's review of paragraph 322(5) of the Immigration Rules will consider the accuracy of decisions on those cases.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his letter to the chair of the Home Affairs Committee, published on 29 May 2018, how many of the 189 appeals against a refusal on paragraph 322(5) grounds were successful.

Caroline Nokes: Our review of applications by Tier 1 (General) migrants who were refused under paragraph 322(5) of the Immigration Rules is ongoingAs I stated in my letter to the Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee of 21 June, the first stage of the review was concluded by the end of May and I expect the remaining cases to be reviewed within the next few weeks. I will report the full findings of the review to the Committee as soon as possible thereafterI also stated in that letter that, of the initial 281 cases reviewed, 249 applicants amended their HMRC records by more than £10,000. In many of the remaining cases, though the differences were less than £10,000, they were nevertheless substantialThere is no specific threshold which would lead to a refusal under paragraph 322(5). Caseworkers consider all the available evidence in the round when assessing an applicant’s character and conductFigures, particularly those in relation to legal challenges (which require a manual trawl of individual case records) are subject to change while the review is ongoing. We will therefore not be providing a breakdown or a running commentary, and it would be inappropriate to do so in relation to current litigation. We will provide more detailed information in relation to legal challenges in our final report.

Asylum: Children

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children were detained while awaiting the outcome of an application for asylum in 2017-18.

Caroline Nokes: Those under the age of 18 are not detained for consideration of their asylum claim.Detention is used as an appropriate measure of immigration control and the numbers of applicants detained, who are recorded as having claimed asylum at some stage, regardless of the outcome of the claim, is available in table dt_01_q of the detention tables in the latest release of the ‘Immigration Statistics, year ending March 2018, available from the Home Office website at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2018/list-of-tables#detention

Immigration: EU Nationals

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral statement of 21 June on EU settlement scheme, how employers, landlords and banks will be able to check the immigration status of EU citizens with settled status after June 2021.

Caroline Nokes: As set out in the statement of intent published on 21 June, EU citizens resident in the UK should apply to the EU Settlement Scheme by 30 June 2021 to obtain their new UK immigration status. This will enable them to continue their lives in the UK with the same entitlements to work, study and access public services and benefits. Evidence of this new UK immigration status will be given in digital form to EU citizens. This will provide them with a convenient way of evidencing their status to those who may need to see confirmation of it, such as an employer, landlord or other service provider. The Government will set out any further plans for adjusting statutory checks by employers, landlords and other service providers in due course.

Immigration: Biometrics

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time was for replacement biometric cards to be issued in each of the last 24 months.

Caroline Nokes: UK Visas and Immigration have different service standards for all Biometric ResidenceCards, these are dependent upon the immigration leave that an individual may have.Published service standards for all Indefinite Leave to Remain applications are to complete 100% of straightforward applications within six months. For those applying for temporary leave in the UK, including replacement Biometric Residents Permits (BRPs), the published service standards are to complete straight forward applications within 8 weeks, UKVI service standards can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration/about-our-services.The average waiting time for issuing Biometric Residence Permits Replacement Card applications (BRP RC) is not specifically included in statistics published by the Home Office. However, the overall processing times for applications made to UKVI are published.Published information can be found at www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-releaseWhere an application is defined as non-straightforward, due to complexity, the customer will be written to within the normal processing time to explain why it will not be decided within the normal standard, and to explain what will happen next.

Immigration: Windrush Generation

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Windrush Scheme plans to make a decision on the application of Mr Peter Lock of North Walsham in Norfolk.

Caroline Nokes: I cannot comment on individual applications. Should Mr Lock wish to discuss his application he can contact the helpline on 0800 678 1925, available Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm, or email commonwealthtaskforce@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

Immigration: EU Nationals

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral statement of 21 June 2018 on EU Settlement Scheme and the oral contribution of the Minister for Immigration of 4 June, Official Report, Volume 642, column 6, how many (a) libraries, (b) Citizens Advice centres and (c) other community services the Government has contacted to date in each (i) constituent part and (ii) region of the UK.

Caroline Nokes: As we have previously said, the EU Settlement Scheme will be a streamlined, user-friendly, digital application system with multiple service options to meet the needs of a varied customer base. As such, we are engaging with stakeholders who represent Local Authorities, Community Groups, Employers and Users to help build a system that is fit for purpose. More information will be published in due course about the locations which applicants will be able to visit to use the app or be helped to do so.

Home Office: Written Questions

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to respond to Question 152869, on Commission for Countering Extremism, tabled on 12 June 2018 by the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton.

Victoria Atkins: The response to UIN 152869 was given on 25 June 2018.

Cabinet Office

Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Legal Aid Scheme

Richard Burgon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much money has been allocated from the public purse by the Legal Aid Agency for legal teams of the survivors and bereaved families in the Grenfell Inquiry as of the start of the opening statements to that inquiry.

Mr David Lidington: The Prime Minister has made clear that survivors, families of victims and local residents affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy will have government funding for legal representation. This was confirmed by the Prime Minister’s notice of determination to the Inquiry, published on 22 August.The independent Inquiry will publish details of its expenditure, including legal costs, on its website in due course.

India: Sikhs

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the scope of the Heywood review into the Amritsar massacre in June 1984.

Chloe Smith: I am confident that the scope of the cabinet Secretary’s review was thorough.

Civil Nuclear Constabulary: Pensions

Jamie Stone: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government’s plans to move Civil Nuclear Constabulary officers onto the Alpha Pensions Scheme from April 2019.

Oliver Dowden: The Government has carried out extensive reforms of public service pension schemes to ensure that they are fair and sustainable, including the introduction of new pension schemes for the main public sector workforces in 2015. As part of these reforms the Government plans to move Civil Nuclear Constabulary officers into the Alpha Pension Scheme in due course.

Cabinet Office: Policy

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the main policy priority is for his Department for 2018; and if he will make a statement.

Oliver Dowden: Cabinet Office published an updated Single Departmental Plan on 23 May 2018. This set out the department’s main policy objectives and how it will achieve them. Single Departmental Plans will be revised annually to reflect new priorities or changes in responsibilities.

Treasury

Customs

Anneliese Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of its fulfilment of the Public Sector Equality Duty on potential new customs arrangements.

John Glen: The government has set out two options for the UK’s future customs relationship with the EU: a ‘new customs partnership’ and a ‘highly streamlined customs arrangement.’ The exact details of our future customs arrangements are subject to negotiation. The government has confirmed that Parliament will be presented with the appropriate analysis to make an informed decision when the meaningful vote on the final deal takes place. When determining policy, the government carefully considers the impact of its decisions on those sharing protected characteristics in line with both its legal obligations and with its strong commitment to promoting fairness.

Revenue and Customs: Standards

Anneliese Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when compliance yield started to be reported by HMRC; and to what extent the different components counting towards the calculation of that yield have varied since compliance yield started to be reported.

Mel Stride: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has reported the impact of its compliance work each year since it was formed in 2005. Compliance yield is recorded under five classifications:Cash expectedRevenue loss preventedFuture revenue benefit (FRB)Product and process yieldAccelerated Payments These classifications are explained further in HMRC’s Annual Report and Accounts 2016-17, which also sets out (on page 23) the size of each of these components. The document can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrcs-annual-report-and-accounts Other than the inclusion of ‘Accelerated Payments’ from 2014, the methodology for calculating HMRC’s compliance yield has remained stable since the start of the SR10 period. Since the start of SR15, HMRC has reported FRB in the year in which the FRB has an impact on Exchequer receipts rather than in the year in which HMRC complete compliance interventions.

Revenue and Customs: Standards

Anneliese Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to HMRC monthly performance update: January 2018, published on 1 March 2018, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for (a) the reduction in post turnaround speed between 2013-14 and 2015-16, and (b) the improvement in post turnaround speed 2016-17.

Mel Stride: In 2014-15 HMRC introduced a number of longer-term changes to improve customer service, such as a new telephony system and digital mail system, which unfortunately led to longer call handling times. To limit these impacts HMRC prioritised phone service over post, which led to a reduction in post performance. During the early part of 2015-16 due to the prioritisation of phones over post HMRC had a large amount of post on hand which led to significant underperformance. HMRC took action during the year to address the poor performance by recruiting additional staff and moving staff from other areas of HMRC to work on post. Efforts to reduce the levels of post on hand resulted in improved service levels – during the last four months of 2015-16 HMRC turned around more than 95% of post within 40 days and more than 70% within 15 days. The improvement continued into 2016-17 where HMRC exceeded their targets for turning round customer post.

General Anti-abuse Rule Advisory Panel

Anneliese Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, where redacted versions of opinions by the General Anti-Abuse Rule Advisory Panel are publicly available.

Mel Stride: The General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) Advisory Panel opinions are published on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tax-avoidance-general-anti-abuse-rule-gaar

Children: Day Care

Emma Little Pengelly: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many families have paid into a Tax-Free Childcare accounts as of 11 June 2018.

Emma Little Pengelly: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many families have had money paid out of a Tax-Free Childcare account to a childcare provider as of 11 June 2018.

Emma Little Pengelly: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much has been spent from the public purse on call centre staff for Tax Free Childcare; and whether that expenditure is in addition to the funding allocated to pay ATOS for the  administration of the Childcare Choices website.

Emma Little Pengelly: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the evidential basis for the claim in the oral contribution of the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to the Treasury Select Committee on 31 January that only half of UK employees work for employers that offer childcare vouchers.

Emma Little Pengelly: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of replacing the Tax Free Childcare online service with an alternative online service as a result of the technical problems with the existing service.

Elizabeth Truss: As of 31 May 2018 over 74,000 families have paid into their Tax-Free Childcare account and over 70,000 families have used their account to pay their childcare provider. The number of families using their accounts is rising as marketing and parent awareness are increases.For question 155362, I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave to the Honourable Member for Batley and Spen on 25 April 2018 (137634). The statement on the proportion of employees with access to childcare vouchers was based on internal analysis of household survey data. For question 155364, I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave to the Honourable Member for Airdrie and Shotts on 25 June 2018 (155823).

Spirits: Excise Duties

Anneliese Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the price elasticity of spirits and the appropriate rate of duty on them.

Mel Stride: The price elasticity of demand for spirits used by the Government is available online on HMRC’s website. These figures are used to create forecasts and costings, which are compared with actual duty receipts to check that the published elasticities remain reasonable. All costings are subject to OBR scrutiny.

UK Trade with EU

Anneliese Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union on the use of the Excise Movement and Control System (a) during and (b) after the transition period.

Mel Stride: The UK and EU negotiating teams have reached agreement on the terms of an implementation period that will start on 30 March 2019 and last until 31 December 2020. During the implementation period, the UK will no longer be a Member State of the European Union, but market access will continue on current terms. To give businesses and citizens certainty, common rules will remain in place until the end of the period meaning businesses will be able to trade on the same terms as now up until the end of 2020. Going forward, it will be for the UK government and Parliament to decide what excise rules we have, subject to the outcome of negotiations with the EU.

Defibrillators: VAT

Nigel Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent representations he has received on the application of VAT to defibrillators.

Mel Stride: The government receives representations on a number of issues, including the VAT treatment of defibrillators. We recognise that provision of defibrillators could help those who have a cardiac arrest outside a hospital setting. The government maintains several VAT reliefs to aid purchases of defibrillators, including purchases made by local authorities and those made through voluntary contributions which are donated to eligible charities or the NHS. The current framework of European law limits further VAT reliefs being applied to defibrillators. Our future relationship with the EU, including on VAT, is subject to negotiation. Any future decisions on VAT will continue to be taken in line with the normal Budget process.

Revenue and Customs

Anneliese Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the financial savings which will arise from the Building Our Future programme.

Mel Stride: HMRC’s Building our Future Locations Programme is the key to its wider transformation. HMRC currently expects that the move to regional centres will result in savings of around £300 million up to 2025. The Locations Programme will also deliver annual cash savings of £74 million in 2025-26, compared with 2015-16 costs, rising to around £90 million by 2028, while improving customer service and modernising how HMRC works.

Tax Evasion: Prosecutions

Anneliese Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many cases referred by HMRC to prosecuting authorities relating to serious and complex tax crime by corporations have been taken up by those authorities in every year since 2010.

Mel Stride: The tables below show the number of individuals referred to independent prosecuting authorities since 2011/12 and the number of positive charging decisions during the same period.  Total Number of Individuals Referred to Prosecuting Authorities2011/125962012/139552013/1411172014/1516032015/1612812016/1713372017/181199  Total Number of Positive Charging Decisions2011/125452012/137702013/149152014/1512882015/1611352016/1711132017/181007 HMRC does not hold this data for earlier years. Changes in numbers between years will be partly due to natural fluctuation, but HMRC are also dealing with increasingly complex investigations and more and more sophisticated criminal organisations, which will affect the length and resource requirements for cases. HMRC investigates companies where fraudulent behaviour can be attributed to individuals who are directing minds of the company. However, HMRC also investigates individuals who are officers of companies but are prosecuted for irregularities relating to their personal tax affairs rather than that of the company. HMRC’s records do not categorise whether investigations and subsequent convictions are in respect of the individual working as an officer for the company or in relation to their personal tax affairs.HMRC has a strong track record of tackling those who have evaded their responsibilities or those who have facilitated tax evasion and is successful in over 90% of prosecutions.

Tax Avoidance

Anneliese Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many actions for failure to notify under the disclosure of tax avoidance schemes legislation have been taken by HMRC against firms using the employment allowance avoidance scheme described by HMRC's guidance of the 29th June 2015.

Mel Stride: HMRC is taking robust action in response to avoidance involving the abuse of Employment Allowance (EA), including legislative change and targeted compliance activity against those who abuse the allowance. Action under Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) is only one of a range of actions available. HMRC will also consider criminal prosecution where appropriate.

Gaming Machines

Carolyn Harris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate the Government has made of the costs to the public purse arising from the harm caused by fixed-odds betting terminals in each of the last three years.

Carolyn Harris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons his Department decided not to implement the reduction on category B2 machines until April 2020; and if he will make a statement.

Carolyn Harris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with bookmakers on the implementation period for reducing the stake on B2 machines.

Carolyn Harris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with machine manufacturers on the implementation period for reducing the stake on B2 gaming machines.

Carolyn Harris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue accrued to the public purse from category B2 machines in each of the last three financial years; and what estimate his Department has made of the sum that will accrue to the public purse from such machines in 2018-19.

Carolyn Harris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the revenue that will accrue to the public purse from category B2 machines between July 2018 and April 2020.

Carolyn Harris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has undertaken a comparative assessment of the levels of remote gaming duty in other European countries; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Jenrick: The Government does not have information on revenue from category B2 machines, information on machine gaming duty receipts can be found on UK Trade Info and the latest forecasts of future revenue were published by the OBR at Spring Statement 2018. Detailed information is not available to quantify costs to the public purse from use of B2 machines. DCMS plan to engage with the gambling industry to ensure it is given sufficient time to implement the technological changes and restructure its business model accordingly. HM Treasury keeps all taxes under review, and international comparison is part of that process.

NHS: Finance

Kate Hollern: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how his Department plans to fund the additional £20bn for the NHS announced on 18 June 2018 through (a) tax increases and (b) other means.

Elizabeth Truss: On 18 June, the Prime Minister set out that the NHS in England will receive an increase in funding over the next five years that equates to over £20 billion additional real terms funding a year by 2023-24. It’s because of our balanced approach to public spending that we’re able to do this. In order to ensure we don’t pass on extra debt to the next generation, it will be funded from a combination of sources, including funding we will no longer be sending to the EU. The Chancellor will set out further detail at Budget.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Local Government Services

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what fiscal plans he has to support the building of new integrated community services.

Tracey Crouch: We have received representations on the Wellness Hub proposal from Sport England and ukactive and are working with both organisations to understand the implications of the proposal and how best to take this forward. As set out in its Sporting Future strategy, government is committed to investing in facilities that are designed and built around customer need and that reflect people's preferences for how they want to engage with sport and physical activity. The strategy is clear that Sport England investment in major sports and physical activity facility projects should include a presumption in favour of co-locating sports and physical activity facilities with other types of community facilities to make it easier for people to get active.

Football

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has had any discussions with (a) UEFA and (b) the Football Association on the transfer of players from non-UK teams to UK teams after the UK leaves the EU.

Tracey Crouch: The Government recognises the contribution that international talent makes to UK sport. We are in ongoing discussions with the Football Association (FA), Premier League and English Football League to better understand the potential impacts and opportunities that our exit from the EU may bring for football, including in relation to changes to freedom of movement after the end of the implementation period. As the European Federation for Football, UEFA liaises directly with its members - including the FA - rather than with the UK Government on matters affecting European football.

Gaming Machines

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to prevent harm to vulnerable people until the £2 stake reduction for fixed-odds betting terminals is introduced.

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reasons the implementation period for the B2 stake reduction is now expected to take longer than the 9 to 12 months set out in the Impact Assessment published alongside the Government’s recent consultation response on proposals to changes to Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures.

Tracey Crouch: Carolyn Harris MP, Labour Minister answering: Tracey Crouch MP  To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to prevent harm to vulnerable people until the £2 stake reduction for fixed-odds betting terminals is introduced. 155335 To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reasons the implementation period for the B2 stake reduction is now expected to take longer than the 9 to 12 months set out in the Impact Assessment published alongside the Government’s recent consultation response on proposals to changes to Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility Measures. 155337 ANSWER The Gambling Commission regulates the industry according to the licensing objectives, which include protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling. It protects gambling customers and the wider public from harm through its licence conditions and codes of practice and compliance and enforcement activity The Government published its response to the consultation on proposed changes to gaming machines and social responsibility measures on 17 May. As well as the stake reduction on B2 machines, the consultation response included a package of measures that will strengthen protections around gaming machines, online gambling, gambling advertising and treatment for problem gamblers, for which work is already under way. The measures include:Protection measures on other category B gaming machines;Increasing player protections around online gambling including stronger age verification rules and proposals to require operators to set limits on consumers’ spending until affordability checks have been conducted;Doing more on research, education and treatment of problem gambling, including for Public Health England (PHE) to carry out a review of the evidence relating to the public health harms of gambling;Enhancing protections around gambling advertising, including a major multi-million pound responsible gambling advertising campaign led by GambleAware, which will be launched later this year;We will also be considering the issue of 16 year olds playing National Lottery products as part of the next licence competition for the National Lottery. We will aim to gather evidence on this issue in order to consider it fully in time for the next licence competition.The Government will deliver the reduction in stake through secondary legislation in due course. We are currently preparing draft regulations needed to make the change, alongside engaging with the gambling industry to ensure they are given sufficient time to implement and complete the technological changes for the reduction in maximum stake for Fixed-Odds Betting Terminals.

Sports: Coventry

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to support sports facilities in Coventry.

Tracey Crouch: Sport England, the government's arm's length body responsible for supporting grassroots sport, is making a series of investments in sports facilities in Coventry. Since 2013, it has invested £6,824,538 of Exchequer and National Lottery funding in the Coventry local authority area in sports facilities and projects to get more people active.

House of Commons Commission

House of Commons: Safety

Patrick Grady: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what evacuation procedures are in place in the event of a fire or other evacuation being required while doors to the division lobbies are locked during a division.

Patrick Grady: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what procedures are in place to respond to a medical emergency in the division lobbies while doors to the division lobbies are locked during a division.

Tom Brake: Whilst the House of Commons is sitting the Serjeant at Arms (or an Associate) is positioned within the Chamber to manage any incidents which occur within it. Serjeants are supported by a team of Doorkeepers who are led by a Duty Principal Doorkeeper.After eight minutes of a division, the entry doors to each lobby are locked by Doorkeepers, whilst the exit remains open. Doorkeepers remain with locked doors (and keys) to ensure they can be unlocked quickly if required in an emergency.In the event of a fire (or other) evacuation, Doorkeepers will be directed to immediately unlock the doors and direct Members to evacuate by the most appropriate route – depending on the location of the incident.Doorkeepers are first aid trained and have immediate access to equipment including first aid kits and an automated external defibrillator. Doorkeepers are also able to summon the nurse from Lower Waiting Hall.The Serjeant at Arms is happy to discuss such procedures in detail with the hon. Member.